Survey: Fewer Jobs In Orlando

June 12, 1986|By Kenneth Michael of The Sentinel Staff

Prospects for those seeking work in Orlando have dimmed somewhat, according to the latest Manpower jobs-outlook survey.

Gay Wolf, manager of Manpower's offices in Orlando, said that the company's latest poll of local employers revealed that 23 percent expected to hire new workers during the July through September period. By comparison, a similar survey three months earlier showed that 47 percent of companies expected to increase their staffs.

Cutbacks in the number of jobs are anticipated in the next three months by 20 percent of the local companies surveyed, while in February only 7 percent planned staff reductions in the following three months.

But the jobs situation in Orlando this summer is somewhat the same as it was in the comparable period of 1985. Fewer employers last year expected to add workers, but the number planning cutbacks was larger. A year ago, 13 percent expected to hire new workers, while 10 percent anticipated cutbacks.

The latest Manpower poll showed that the likelihood of obtaining a job in Orlando this summer is greater in construction, durable-goods manufacturing, public administration, finance, insurance and real estate. There are likely to be fewer job opportunities in wholesale and retail trades and in services, the survey indicated.

The local jobs outlook for the next three months lags the hiring prospects in the rest of the nation and in the South, Manpower reported.

Nationally, 27 percent of more than 12,500 employers polled said that they planned to add workers, while only 9 percent expected staff reductions. Throughout the South, 26 percent of the companies surveyed expected to hire additional workers, while 10 percent expected to have fewer employees.

Manpower Inc., which provides temporary employees for companies whose needs range from office workers to laborers in heavy industry, surveys the jobs market every three months in 384 U.S. cities. The latest poll was conducted in late May.

The company said that job prospects nationwide for the July through September period are slightly better than in the same 1985 period, but ''weakness is evident in energy-dependent areas.''